Help.. I can barely describe what happened
 

I have a 1984 GSL-SE, 5 speed,13B, anyway, I had driven from home maybe three miles, stopped at a light and noticed the car had died..strange in itself but not a problem...I start the car and it sounds kind of like the engine is running but the starter motor is still cranking and by then of course grinding..I shut the motor off and attempt to start it and just get a grinding sound from the starter, waited a few seconds, tried again, the car ran fine so I put about fifteen miles on it while listening for any unusual sounds..seems fine. Now I will admit being a TOTAL NOVICE with respect to rotary motors but that was by far the strangest noise I heard while the motor was running on any car, I would have guessed it was out of time but I checked and everything seemed intact and unchanged, i just had got the car out of the shop for a fender repair and am not the paranoid type to think any damage was done, I do not want to guess so I am hoping that one of the really smart members reads this and has a clue what I am trying to describe, i apologize for the lousy description but it is about the best i can do, I have had this car for a couple months and have had really minor issues..clutch master and release cylnders but nothing like that.

Thank You

Troy

Based on the description, it sounds like the bendix in the starter is sticking, and not retracting properly when you back the key off from "start" to "run".

You can either swap out the starter (easy but more $$), or open it up and see if all it needs is cleaning and lubrication (possibly cheaper but a lot more involved, mechanically and electrically.

Most people look on starters as disposable units. I've had occasional luck with fixing them on various cars over the years, because I'm essentially cheap and starters can be expensive on older cars.

While it's off, you'd probably want to inspect the gear on the starter, and the teeth on the flywheel, and make sure nothing is damaged.

thanks ,will try sounds logical to me

Troy

starter is real easy to replace, shuldnt be too much of a problem if it is.